To Die For
by NTJW
Summary: Inception AU. "So... What is it exactly that you senpai have been up to?" Niou slung an arm over his shoulders, "Well, Bakaya. It's not exactly legal." Slight Alpha pair if you squint. Not sure about any other pairings for now.
1. Prologue

Okay, so I saw a gifset on tumblr by princessofmilktea and omg I had to write something about it a;sdkfjgh

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or Inception or whatever else I may have accidentally referenced?

..

Water.

Sand.

Wet.

Cold.

Where was he?

Suddenly, he felt multiple pairs of arms seizing him and dragging him off the beach. Somewhere in the distance, he thought he heard a crowd chanting… What were they chanting? It was being drowned out by the crashing waves. He raised his head a little. When did his head become so heavy? A flash of yellow and black in his blurred vision, and then, nothing.

* * *

"Sir, we found this man on the beach."

An old man, his greying hair sticking out at odd angles sat at the head of the table, "Why did you bring him here?"

The guard mutely placed a calligraphy brush, and a wakizashi on the table before his employer.

Black ink dripped from the tip of the fine brush onto the expensive wooden table. The old man picked up the brush before lifting his gaze to the haggard figure across the table from him, still sitting ramrod straight despite being pulled out of the ocean moments before. "I know this," he rasped, "I've seen it before." He placed the tip of the brush to the table and slowly wrote two characters, "I've seen it in a dream."

The man stared mutely at the owner of the place.

"Why are you here?" he directed his attention now to the wakizashi. "If you're here to kill me, I don't think that a blade will do you any good."

"I am not," he paused for a moment as though surprised at his own voice, "I am not here to kill you."

..

Should I keep this going? :O

Thank you for reading/please review!

To everyone who has been reading Again From Zero, I have a chapter written up already! Just not very happy with it so EDITING


	2. Chapter 1

Lol, I just now realized how vague the prologue was... whoops...

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or Inception

..

Nighttime: Japanese Castle

"Ideas. Knowledge. The most dangerous weapons," Sanada crossed his legs and leaned forward against the table, gazing evenly at the man before him.

His eyes narrowed, "What makes you say that?"

"They infect your mind," Yanagi answered from his spot by the wall, "There is nothing more dangerous than something that can penetrate your mind."

"And how does that concern me?"

"Extractors. People trained to steal ideas," he intoned.

The man appeared baffled, "Steal ideas?"

"'How?' is what you were going to ask," Yanagi smirked, "The subconscious lowers defenses when sleeping, obviously. So in a dream, an extractor can find the idea easily."

"The subconscious, like the physical body can be trained. You can train it. We can help you."

"_You_ can?"

"I am an extractor."

"One of the best, according to the data."

Sanada shot his friend a look for interrupting, "But to do this, I will need to know _everything_ about you."

There was a moments silence before the man stood and opened the doors behind him, "I will consider the offer."

As the man left, Yanagi turned, "He knows, Genichirou."

"Tarundoru."

From somewhere, there came an incessant high-pitched whine, the kind that pierced the eardrums and never seemed to go away.

* * *

Daytime: Apartment

If there was one upside to this job, it was pushing Sanada into a bathtub full of water.

Yagyuu lifted two fingers and pushed his glasses into place. He watched his former vice-captain, dozing in the chair, poised to fall before turning his attention to the clock on the wall. His eyes followed the tubes that were taped to the inside of Sanada's wrist until they came to a compact silver briefcase on the floor. More tubes sprouted from the case: one set leading to Yanagi, the other to another room. He glanced at the data master, sleeping in an armchair in the other room, his glasses flashing in the hazy sunlight that came in through the bathroom window.

A shrill noise sounded in his ears.

_No._

He whipped his head up to look at the clock again. It was too soon. _Not yet. Not yet._

* * *

Daytime: Train

Jackal winced a little when he saw Yagyuu's head bump slightly against the train window. He stared at the watch in the palm of his hand.

* * *

Daytime: Apartment

Yagyuu put a hand on Sanada's shoulder and shook the large man a little.

* * *

Nighttime: Japanese Castle

Something like an explosion rumbles through the air around them. Sanada and Yanagi steady themselves against the wall of the building.

"I told you, Genichirou. He _knows._"

"It doesn't matter," he clenched his jaw, "I can get it."

Yanagi's eyes widened, granting his friend a rare glimpse of his grey eyes, "Buchou," the word left his lips in a shocked whisper.

Sanada whirled around to see Yukimura standing there, an angelic smile on his face, "Renji," he swallowed, "You go." He closed his eyes and heard the tap of retreating footsteps before opening them to rest on his former captain.

"If I jumped, would you jump too?" the beautiful man leaned against the railing of the balcony.

"Yukimura," he rasped.

The angelic—and yet terrifying—smile turned onto him, "I think I already know the answer to that."

"What are you doing here?"

"Don't you miss me?"

He looked away, unable to meet those unnaturally bright blue eyes, "Of course. Of course I do. But—" Sanada inhaled the salty air.

"But what?"

He slid open the wooden door, "Buchou," he said softly, "Please. Sit down."

Yukimura obliged and settled himself into the plush armchair, "Tell me, Genichirou. Do the others miss me?" he watched the other man pull on a pair of gloves.

"More than you'll ever know," Sanada begins tying a black rope around a leg of the chair.

"I wonder how Akaya is doing."

He pulled on the rope roughly, "I haven't seen him since—"

"Genichirou, what—"

"Don't move."

Yukimura stared at the open window long after Sanada had disappeared through it. His gaze trailed the black rope to the windowsill. A small smirk played on his delicate features and a strange gleam entered his eyes.

* * *

Sanada raised his head to see the taut black rope disappear over the balcony above. _Yukimura. _He felt him leave the chair before he started falling. Well, what was he expecting? His former captain had never been one for taking orders from others, even Sanada.

* * *

He drew the wakizashi from inside his jacket. Pulling himself back up and opening the window had been a piece of cake. Now, with his back pressed against a wall, Sanada peered out. Sure enough, there was a guard there. Renji's data never failed. He closed his eyes and waited, listening to the footsteps until he heard the guard reach the corner and turn.

It was over in seconds. Darting out, clamping a hand over the man's mouth and drawing the blade across the throat. Sanada wiped the blade off before lowering the body to the floor.

There. His target.

As soon as he opened the door, the lights flooded on. Sanada blinked as his vision came back into focus.

The man from before was there, as though expecting him. And next to him stood Yukimura.

..

Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 2

Sorry for the wait! To those of you who haven't seen Inception before, hopefully this isn't too confusing?

.. - change in point of view

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Inception

..

Nighttime: Japanese Castle

"Put that down, Genichirou," Yukimura smiled coldly.

Sanada looked to the other man, "Did he tell you?" he kept his blade raised, and almost wished he had dreamed up a katana now.

"That you were trying to steal from me? Or that this is a dream?" the man smirked, "Bring him in."

At those words, the doors to the right burst open and Renji was dragged in by two burly-looking men. Sanada felt the "_I told you"_ radiating from his friend.

"Who hired you?"

"The knife, Genichirou."

Sanada didn't speak, just stared at the crowd before him as he put the wakizashi down and slid it across the table.

"Always so traditional," Yukimura gestured at their surroundings, "It's _your_ dream, isn't it?"

He would have explained himself. Would have said that it was because the client owned a large mansion and was known to be a patron of the Japanese arts. But as it was, he clamped his mouth shut.

"Who is your employer?" the man asked again.

Again, he said nothing.

Yukimura stepped forward and picked the blade up from where it stopped and proceeded to glide over to where Renji was being held. With a flick of his hand, one of the two men grabbed the former data master's hair and pulled his head back roughly, allowing Yukimura to press the blade up against his Adam's apple, "Answer the question."

Sanada blinked, "There is no point to threatening him with death if this is a dream."

"I know that. But what if I don't kill him?" something about Yukimura's smile changed, "What if it's just pain? Pain, after all, like what so many of you told me, is in the mind, isn't it?"

He vaguely remembered Kintarou saying something about how Yukimura could be… "terrifying" was the word that the boy had used. Now, it echoed through his mind as his former captain's smile disappeared and was replaced with an expression he had never seen before, that chilled him to the bone even before he saw the knife move.

Renji, to his credit, did not cry out as the blade pressed into and drew across his arm, leaving a long bloody gash in its wake.

Suddenly, he was sprinting. _Swift like the wind._ Sanada drew a tantou from its sheath inside his sleeve. Leaping on the table, sliding towards them. _Strike like lightning._ He flung the blade across the room where it landed squarely in Renji's forehead.

Sanada didn't wait to see his friend's body disappear in a puff of smoke. He turned sharply and began running back towards the door.

* * *

Daytime: Apartment

Yagyuu snapped his head up as Renji awoke with a gasp from the armchair and began yanking the tubes out of his arm.

"Yanagi-san, what are you doing? It's not—"

"'Time yet.' I know," he began fiddling with the dials in the case, "The loop must be reconnected before they wake up." Renji then proceeded to push the device to the other room where the tubes led.

"What happened?" Yagyuu followed him and watched, seemingly detached, as Renji struggled with the tubes taped to a figure sleeping on the bed.

The data master paused in his work for a moment as the man on the bed next to him stirred, "You know what happened," he answered quietly.

* * *

Nighttime: Japanese Castle

_Escape. Window. There._ He sprang to the side and brought his arms up as the glass shattered around him. Immediately, he was on his feet again. Sanada's surroundings shuddered around him as the building rumbled.

..

Yukimura smirked before directing his icy blue gaze to the mansion's owner, "Too close for comfort?"

Upon these words, the man motioned for one of the bodyguards to open the safe behind him.

"Sir," he swallowed, "It's empty."

The man whirled around and let out an angry exclamation, "Catch him!"

..

Sanada ducked under a dark stairwell and yanked a small envelope from inside his jacket. _Thank God for Renji._ He tore it open, dark eyes scanning over every word printed on the papers.

* * *

Daytime: Apartment

Renji continued to twist the knobs and flip the switches as fast as he could go. Even as he did so, he called over his shoulder to where Yagyuu stood waiting, "I won't be able to do it in time. Go wake Genichirou."

..

He darted into the bathroom where Sanada sat dozing in a chair. _Apologies, fuku-buchou._ Yagyuu raised a hand and slapped the larger man across the face.

* * *

Nighttime: Japanese Castle

Sanada was running up the main staircase, taking the steps two at a time when an unseen force hurled him over the banister. He cursed under his breath.

..

The man paused in his tracks and looked up in time to see the ceiling collapse.

* * *

Daytime: Apartment

He awoke with a gasp, hand coming up automatically to rub at his eyes. He glanced curiously at the tubes coming out of his arm.

..

_Come on fuku-buchou._ Yagyuu shook him, "He's not waking up, Yanagi-san!"

..

"Do it, Yagyuu," Renji began re-connecting some of the tubes. Suddenly, he felt the barrel of a gun at his temple. He glanced up, startled.

..

He put a finger to his lips when he made eye contact with the man at his bedside… or he assumed he made eye contact…

..

Yagyuu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and sighed. He took a step away from his former vice-captain and bowed slightly. The purple-haired man lifted the legs of the chair, sending it tipping into the bathtub.

* * *

Nighttime: Japanese Castle

Sanada scrambled to his feet and resumed running as the guards continued their chase. He struggled with the last sheet of paper. _Atobe?_

* * *

Daytime: Apartment

Yagyuu watched from a distance at the larger man's flailing limbs as he entered the water.

* * *

Nighttime: Japanese Castle

Water came pouring in from all directions. Bursting through the windows. Swirling around the base of the staircase.

Sanada soon found himself swamped, and struggling to stay afloat as the current spun him around and pulled him down.

* * *

Daytime: Apartment

He felt himself suffocating. He needed air. He was drowning. Sanada's hands clamped onto the sides of the bathtub. He gasped for air as his head broke the surface.

..

Yagyuu found himself being hurled against the wall, glasses knocked askew. He reached up and straightened them to see Sanada launching up out of the bathtub at the perpetrator.

..

Thank you for reading!


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